


A Taste of Teenage Rebellion

by makethestorylast



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: Canon Lesbian Relationship, Developing Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Late Night Conversations, Sneaking Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29249037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makethestorylast/pseuds/makethestorylast
Summary: Alice Woodward was the type of girl to stay up until the early hours of the morning just to finish homework. Which, coincidentally, was what she found herself doing when someone fell from the tree outside her window.
Relationships: Alice Woodward & Bill Woodward, Deb/Alice Woodward
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	A Taste of Teenage Rebellion

**Author's Note:**

> CW // None

Alice hated Calculus. She disliked a lot of things, but at the moment, she hated Calculus with a burning passion. She stared at her paper, her eyes glazed over, not really taking anything in. If she had to look at one more integral, she was going to explode.

She shook her head as if that would clear it and checked the clock. 5 hours before she had to be awake, not that she expected to get any sleep tonight. Maybe if she came up with a convincing sob story, Ms. Marler would cut her some slack.

A rustling outside distracted her for a moment.

She peeked out her window into the dark, barely able to make out shadows by the weak light of the one street lamp on the corner. Something in the tree by her window shook the branches, leaves cascading down, catching what little light there was.

A snap echoed in the silence, and something hit the ground with a muffled thud.

“Fuck.”

Alice could hear it even through her closed window, which meant her dad, who always had his window open, would  _ definitely _ hear it. She rushed over to her light, switched it on, and hurried back to open the window.

“Deb, what are you doing here?” she whispered, the slightest bit on edge. Deb flashed her a crooked smile from the ground. She hadn’t quite pushed herself up yet, and the light from Alice’s room hit her just enough to make out her dark clothes and her hair tied back with an elastic.

“What, I can’t come see my girlfriend?”

Alice wasn’t going to lie, that word still made her heart flutter. Three days, just three days since they decided they were  _ girlfriends _ , and she was walking on air every time she heard it.

No, no, now wasn’t the time.

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I know,” Deb said with that same infuriating—and, unfortunately, absolutely  _ adorable _ —grin.

“My dad is going to kill you. And probably me.”

“Not if he doesn’t find out.” Deb finally pushed herself up, leaning against the tree trunk and lifting her hand up toward Alice’s window, like she was offering it. “Join me?”

“You’re crazy.”

“And you love it.”

Alice rolled her eyes, but she flicked off her light again and, after glancing around the room as if she might find someone lurking to catch her in the act, lifted the screen of her window as well and started carefully climbing through, her Calculus work forgotten.

She balanced unsteadily on the windowsill and reached out for the nearset tree branch, praying that it would still hold her weight. It dipped when she let go, putting all of her weight onto it. She quickly shimmied closer to the trunk, where the strongest branches were, and slowly lowered herself down. Finally, her feet hit the ground with a thump, and she leaned back against the trunk, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

“You good, Allie?” Deb’s hand rested on her shoulder. Alice wondered briefly how close she was, and even considered leaning up for a kiss, but the fear drowned the thought out.

“Yeah, I... Yeah,” she said quietly.

“Hey, I can boost you back up, we can pretend this never happened—”

“No, no, I’m... I’m good.” She nodded, opening her eyes. Deb looked more concerned than she expected, did she really look that bad?

“Alice, I mean it. I don’t want to make you do anything if you don’t wanna, if you need me to—”

“Really, Deb, I’m fine. Now, what are we doing down here?”

Deb stared at Alice for a second, only a bit less worried than before, then jumped. “Right! Uh, well... I wanted to take you somewhere...?” She trailed off like she was expecting a ‘no.’ For anyone else, the answer would probably  _ be _ a ‘no.’ But Alice just nodded.

“Lead the way.”

Deb grabbed her wrist and began to lead her into the darkness. Alice stole one last glance at her house, breathing a sigh of relief when she noticed that her light hadn’t turned back on. Thankfully, her dad must not have noticed her leave. Maybe she should be worried about that, but right then, her fear melted into exhilaration. She just  _ snuck out _ with her  _ girlfriend. _ She was almost embarrassed at how giddy she was.

Deb pulled her along, too quick to be walking but not quite a run. They stumbled down the sidewalk, cloaked in the darkness, out of breath, sometimes stealing glances at each other and grinning widely.

“Where are we going?” Alice asked through laughter.

Deb just tugged her arm and picked up her pace slightly, looking back at Alice with a sly smile. “You’ll see, c’mon.”

She led Alice into the woods not far from her house, and suddenly the darkness surrounding them was that much darker. Leaves and branches cracked under their feet as they hurried deeper, far enough away from any houses to worry about the noise they made. Alice clung closer to Deb as she followed, partly in response to the chill, but mostly because she wasn’t fond of the dark—especially not dark, scary forests. 

Deb found her hand and squeezed it gently. Alice squeezed back.

“Nearly there, Allie. Not much further.”

Deb slowed her pace, moving her gaze left and right before perking up, clearly spying what she was looking for. She ran off, letting go of Alice’s arm, before sheepishly walking back, the darkness hiding her blush as she offered her hand. Alice rolled her eyes and took it, letting herself be dragged forward.

They stopped in a random spot, at least as far as Alice could tell, and Deb moved around behind her.

“I’m gonna cover your eyes, I’ll guide you, okay?”

Alice nodded and closed her eyes, waiting until she felt Deb’s hands rest over them. They walked slowly, step-by-step. Alice lost track of where she was, so she continued to lean against Deb and let her guide the way. 

Deb’s hands pulled away, and she tapped Alice on the shoulder.

“Okay, open your eyes,” she whispered.

Alice did.

For a second, the sudden change in scenery knocked her off-balance. Then she finally took the view in.

They stood on the bank of a slow-moving creek, tree branches laden with ripe fruit dangling over the water, blowing gently in the breeze. The moonlight caught on shimmering flecks in the stones dotting the riverbank and cast dim shadows with the trees surrounding them. The reflection of the moon and stars rippled in the water. Alice looked up, and the view took her breath away.

Thousands of stars dusted the dark sky, a full moon shining overhead. She was never one for astronomy—Deb could point out every constellation, but Alice had trouble picking out the Big Dipper on a good day—but suddenly she wanted nothing more than to know  _ everything _ about the stars.

Something tugged at her sleeve, and Alice looked down to see Deb, sitting with her legs tucked up against her chest, motioning for her to sit down. Alice sat cross-legged and rested her head on Deb’s shoulder, smiling when Deb raised a hand to run it through her hair.

“It’s beautiful,” Alice whispered, staring out over the creek. 

“Yeah, it is,” Deb responded, and when Alice glanced over, she noticed Deb wasn’t looking at the scenery. She was suddenly grateful the moonlight washed out her face and made her blush invisible. 

They sat together for what seemed like hours, watching the light of the moon move slowly across the river. Talking would disturb whatever trance they’d fallen under, so they whispered instead, sweet nothings and stupid jokes and wishful plans for the future. A house, a cat, bread baking in the oven, a garden out front with every flower imaginable. In that moment, Alice couldn’t imagine living out the rest of her life with anyone else.

The real world faded at the edges as they talked, but unfortunately, time didn’t stop existing. And when Alice finally checked her phone, blinded by the sudden change in light, her heart sank.

“It’s nearly 5 in the morning...” She trailed off, suddenly remembering that she  _ snuck out _ , she’s not supposed to be here, she—

“Alice, hey, look at me.” Deb spoke softly. “It’s gonna be alright, I’ll walk you home. Let’s go.” Deb stood up, pulling Alice up with her.

Maybe it was because they’d been down this path before, or maybe the fear was screwing with her sense of time, but the walk back took no time at all. She almost wished it took longer. She wasn’t ready to face her dad yet.

“Go home,” she said, making Deb glance at her quizzically. “Go, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not going to let you take the fall for this, I was the one who—”

“No, you don’t—My dad… doesn’t know yet,” Alice whispered, suddenly very aware of her breathing. 

Deb nodded. “Alright. But if anything happens, you call me, okay? Good luck, Allie,” she whispered, and pressed a kiss to Alice's cheek before heading off.

Alice took a breath and steeled herself, opening the unlocked door—shit, her dad must be awake then—and slowly pushing it open.

“Welcome home.” Her dad didn’t even look up from his book.

“Hi dad,” Alice said, trying to muster a smile. 

“So here’s what we’re going to do,” her dad started, closing his book and looking up at her from his chair. Alice dropped her shoulders and looked at the ground, already resigning herself to whatever punishment he was ready to dream up. “You’re going to go upstairs, and—”

“And I’m grounded until I’m thirty, yes, I know.” She didn’t bother arguing, just turned to the stairs, but her dad’s voice stopped her again.

“And I’m going to pretend like this never happened. Now, go finish your calculus homework, I don’t need you failing. And next time you want to go out, ask first? Please?”

This wasn’t happening. There was no way this was happening. “Yeah, of course. I’ll, uh, go finish that now.” And she went upstairs before he could change his mind.

She flopped onto the bed before she could remember that is was covered in paper and pens, then slowly rolled off in an attempt to keep anything from getting crumpled. When she finally shoved everything to the end of the bed, she laid down again, staring up at her ceiling fan, still a bit giddy. She couldn’t shake the image of all those stars hanging over her—it was almost... otherworldly. Maybe it was.

She rolled on her side and checked the time. 2 hours left, and she still hadn’t gotten any sleep. The blanket of panic started to settle over her again, and she pushed herself up and started grabbing her papers. The time crunch made her hands shake slightly, and she had trouble keeping her heavy eyes open, but through the haze of exhaustion and procrastination-induced anxiety, the feeling of that night still warmed her from the inside-out.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember to drop a comment/kudos if you enjoyed!
> 
> <3
> 
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